Lawrence (given name)

Lawrence

Gender	Masculine
Language(s)	English
Origin
Meaning	"man from Laurentum" or "bright one, shining one", "laurelled"
Other names
Pet form(s)	Larry, Lawrie, Laurie, Larold, Law
Related names	Claren, Clarence, Labhrás (Irish), Larence, Larford, Laurence (English), Lars (Germanic languages), Laurencjusz, Laurenty, Wawrzyniec (Polish), Laurens (Dutch, English), Laurent (French), Laurențiu (Romanian), Laurentius (Latin), Lavrentiy (Russian), Llorente\Lorente (Aragonese), Lorens (Scandinavian), Lorenz, Lorentz (German), Lorenzo (Italian, Spanish (Castilian)), Lőrinc (Hungarian), Lourenço (Portuguese), Vavrinec/Vavřinec (Slovak/Czech).
See also	Bert, a name also meaning "bright",

Lawrence is a masculine given name. It is an Anglicisation of the French Laurent,[1] which is in turn derived from the Latin Laurentius or Old Greek Lavrenti.[2] Pet forms of Lawrence include Larry, Lawrie and, less commonly, Law.[1]

People

Christianity

• Lawrence of Rome (died 258), deacon and Roman Catholic saint, born in Spain

St. Lawrence in stained glass window by Franz Mayer & Co. He is holding a palm branch, a symbol of martyrdom, and a griddle, the instrument of his death.

• Lawrence I (bishop of Milan), bishop of Milan from 490 to c. 511, Roman Catholic saint
• Lawrence, Archbishop of Split (died 1099), Benedictine monk and Archbishop of Split 1060–1099
• Brother Lawrence de la Résurrection (died 1691), Carmelite friar

Arts and entertainment

• Lawrence Brownlee (born 1972), American opera singer
• Lawrence Cheng (born 1954), Hong Kong film actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and master of ceremonies
• Lawrence Chou (born 1979), Hong Kong-Canadian singer and actor
• Lawrence Gray (1898–1970), American actor
• Lawrence (musician), English singer, songwriter and guitarist Lawrence Hayward (born 1961)
• Lawrence Hill, Canadian writer (born 1957)
• Lawrence Ng, Hong Kong actor
• Lawrence Raghavendra, South Indian film actor
• Lawrence Saint (1885–1961), American stained glass artist
• Lawrence Weingarten (1897–1975), American film producer
• Lawrence Welk (1903–1992), American band leader, accordion player, and television host
• Lawrence Wong Guan Yi (born 1988), Singaporean actor

Business

• Lawrence Bossidy, former chairman of Honeywell, former CEO and chairman of AlliedSignal, current chairman of Merck & Co.
• Lawrence Ho (born 1977), Chinese-Canadian businessman
• Lawrence Hunt, internet entrepreneur and CEO of Silverjet
• Lawrence E. Page (born 1973), co-founder of Google Inc.
• Lawrence Stroll (born 1959), Canadian businessman, part-owner of Racing Point F1 Team
• Lawrence Wackett (1896–1982), airplane designer, entrepreneur and manager, the father of the Australian aircraft industry
• Lawrence Yu (born 1946), Hong Kong businessman

Education

• Lawrence S. Bacow, former president of Tufts University
• Lawrence M. Krauss, professor of physics and President of The Origins Project Foundation
• Lawrence C. Levy (born 1950), executive dean of the National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University, and journalist
• Lawrence Lessig, professor of physics at Cornell University
• Lawrence Solan (1952–2024), American professor of law at Brooklyn Law School
• Lawrence A. Tabak, American dentist and biomedical scientist
• Lawrence H. Schiffman, professor of Hebrew and Judaic Studies at NYU

Politics

• Lawrence (judge royal) (died after 1180), Hungarian nobleman, Judge royal 1164–1172
• Lavrentiy Beria, Soviet politician
• Lawrence A. Conner, Sr., American politician
• Lawrence T. Fuglaar (1895-1972), American politician
• Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go (born 1974), Filipino politician
• Lawrence Gonzi, Maltese politician and former Prime Minister (2004-2013)
• Lawrence M. Rulison (1917–1966), American lawyer and politician
• Lawrence Wong Shyun Tsai (born 1972), Singaporean economist and politician, fourth Prime Minister of Singapore (from 2024)
• Lawrence Xu-Nan, New Zealand politician

Sports

• Lawrence Akandu (born 1974), Nigerian-born Hong Kong football player
• Lawrence Cager (born 1997), American football player
• Lawrence Chimezie Akandu (born 1974), Nigerian-born Hong Kong football player
• Lawrence Dallaglio (born 1972), English former rugby union player
• Lawrence Demmy (1931–2016), British ice dancer
• Lawrence Hardy (1913–?), English footballer
• Lawrence Jacquelin (1923–1992), American NASCAR driver
• Lawrence Lemieux (born 1955), Canadian sailor
• Laurence McGivern (born 1992), former Irish Paralympic swimmer
• Lawrence Morgan (1915–1997), Australian sportsman
• Lawrence Naesen (born 1992), Belgian cyclist
• Lawrence Ng (fencer) (born 1999), Hong Kong fencer
• Lawrence Okoye (born 1991), British-born American football player and Olympian
• Lawrence Peckham (born 1944), Australian high jumper
• Lawrence Sampleton (born 1959), American former football player
• Lawrence Sapp (born 2001), American Paralympic swimmer
• Lawrence Taylor (born 1959), Hall-of-Fame American retired football player
• Lawrence Thomas (footballer) (born 1992), Australian footballer
• Lawrence Virgil (born 1990), American football player
• Laurence Whiteley, (born 1991), British parasport rower
• Lawrence Woods (born 1998), American football player

Other

• Lawrence Baskir (born 1938), American federal judge
• Lawrence Hargrave (1850-1915), Australian inventor, explorer, astronomer, engineer and aeronautical pioneer
• Lawrence Joel (1928–1984), United States Army medic awarded the Medal of Honor
• Lawrence Krauss (born 1954), Canadian-American theoretical physicist and cosmologist
• Laurence Llewelyn-Bowen (born 1965), English interior designer and television personality
• Lawrence Oates (1880–1912), member of the ill-fated Scott expedition to the South Pole
• Lawrence O'Toole (journalist), Canadian journalist
• Lawrence Singleton (1927–2001), American criminal
• Lawrence Nassar also known as Larry Nassar, a US Lebanese criminal and former medical professional
• Lawrence Wright (born 1947), American writer and journalist

Fictional characters

• Lawrence, a character in the 1995 American coming-of-age teen comedy movie Clueless
• Lawrence Alamain, character from the American soap opera Days of Our Lives
• Lawrence Fletcher, Ferb's dad and Phineas's stepdad in the Disney animated series Phineas and Ferb
• Lawrence Oleander, character from visual novel Boyfriend to Death 2: Fresh Blood
• Lawrence, minor character from animated children's television series Mona the Vampire
• Lawrence, character from 2003 comedy film School of Rock
• Lawrence, character from comedy-drama television series Insecure
• Dr. Lawrence Gordon, character from the Saw franchise

See also

• All pages with titles beginning with Lawrence
• Larry (disambiguation)
• Laurence
• Lawrence (surname)
• Lawrence (disambiguation)
• Lawrie, including a list of people with the given name, many of them named Lawrence

References

1. Hanks, P; Hardcastle, K; Hodges, F (2006) [1990]. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 165. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1.
2. Hanks, P; Hardcastle, K; Hodges, F (2006) [1990]. A Dictionary of First Names. Oxford Paperback Reference (2nd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 164. ISBN 978-0-19-861060-1.